Tuesday, 16 September 2014

A predominant ingredient in the Orient is fish - used both fresh and comminuted as surimi fish mince. Made for centuries by the Japanese and thought to date as far back as 1100AD, surimi is now spreading from Japanese to Western processed foods and is used to form extruded, shaped or cooked simulated shell-fish meat products such as crab, lobster, scallop or shrimp.To gain consumer acceptance of imitation shell-fish, the texture, flavour and appearance of fresh shell-fish must be matched as closely as possible.

This objective has successfully been achieved by Japanese processors, who produce surimi as an economic alternative to fresh fillets and imitation shell-fish which are barely distinguishable from the real thing. However, in the emulation of this success and creation of products with an authentic shell-fish texture, especially using surimi from non-Japanese species of fish, European food manufacturers are challenged.